Celery Intake A Problem Only In Low-sodium Diets

ADVICE

Q. Is it true that celery is a poor food for dieters because it causes fluid retention?

A. That idea has been around as long as we can remember. It is linked to the fact that celery is one of several vegetables that are relatively high in sodium. Others in the group include artichokes, beets, carrots, white turnips, spinach and other dark-green leafy vegetables. This characteristic is of little practical importance, except in rare cases where sodium intake must be sharply limited. In those situations, the amount of all these vegetables is restricted. But for dieters who like it, celery is perfectly acceptable.

Q. Please examine the enclosed label from a nutritional supplement. On the advice of a friend I have been taking it for about a year, and I wonder whether the use of such large doses of nutrients has any serious side effects.

A. Fortunately, the supplement you are taking does not provide amounts of any single nutrient at levels likely to be toxic. Nonetheless, there are three reasons why you are wasting your money.

First, the main ingredient in the product is soy-protein isolate. In all likelihood, you are getting all the protein you need and then some. Beyond that, soy protein does not contain enough of all the essential amino acids necessary for the growth and repair of body tissues.

Second, there is no physiologic reason to take a supplement providing anywhere from 160 percent to more than 800 percent of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances for essential nutrients. Remember that these levels already are set to include a generous margin of safety.

Finally, we question why the manufacturer has added a smorgasbord of compounds, among them papain, inositol and rutin, for which they clearly state that ``the value in human nutrition has not been established.``

You have not told us how much you pay for this supplement. Our guess is that if you are looking for nutritional insurance, you can get it a lot more cheaply somewhere else. Simply choose the least-expensive supplement you can find that contains 100 percent of the RDA for essential vitamins and minerals, and count on your diet to provide all the protein you need.

Q. Is it true that soft-drink consumption in this country is still on the rise?

A. As a nation, we seem to have an insatiable thirst for beverages that contain almost nothing but calories. Figures recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicate that Americans drank 45.6 gallons of soft drinks per capita in 1985, or 92 percent more than they did 15 years earlier. Indeed, that figure was up 5.6 gallons over two years before, and represents no less than 486 12-ounce cans of soda for every person in the country. Juice consumption has climbed 59 percent since 1970, but still adds up to just a little more than 7 gallons per person.

The consumption of coffee has followed a reverse trend, down from 33.4 gallons in 1970 to 25.9 gallons in 1985, a decline of 22.5 percent.

Q. As a single parent, I am having a lot of trouble making ends meet. To save money, I stock up on key foods such as frozen orange juice when it is on sale and use non-fat powdered milk most of the time. I also buy bread and produce on the day-old shelf. I am particularly nutrition-conscious, and worry that these reduced-price foods might be nutritionally inferior. If so, would I be better off trying to economize elsewhere in my budget?

A. The vitamin most vulnerable to destruction in overripe fruits and vegetables is vitamin C. And there may be some loss not only of that nutrient but of other vitamins as well. But if your family`s diet is reasonably varied, you probably are getting enough of the essential vitamins.

We caution you to avoid foods that show signs of mold. Molds can be perfectly harmless. But some are potentially harmful. Moreover, trimming away visible mold does not get rid of it. What you see -- the ``bloom`` -- is only part of the mold. Roots may spread throughout a food that only appears moldy on the surface. True, mold won`t make you sick every time you inadvertently happen to consume some of it, but it is not a good idea to take chances.